TEEN'S DRUG SENTENCE CUT FROM 26 YEARS TO 2

MOULTON- Not many teenagers are so relieved to head off to jail for the summer.

Facing a 26-year prison sentence for selling a few ounces of marijuana as a
high school student, Webster Alexander, 19, got a big break Wednesday
morning in Lawrence County court.

Alexander's good fortune also marked a victory for Decatur attorney John
Edmond Mays, who's been battling national drug-legalization activists who
sought to cast Alexander as a poster boy for their cause. The teen refused,
agreeing only to select interviews despite a crush of requests. One appears
in this week's Rolling Stone magazine.

Wednesday, Circuit Judge Philip Reich studied Alexander's accomplishments
since arrest: a high school diploma, drug rehabilitation, a year of college
and consistent efforts to keep a job despite losing his driver's license
with the drug conviction.

"There may be those that think you're not worth fooling with, and you
should be sent to prison, but I'm not of that opinion, presently," the
judge told Alexander. "I'm going to give you an opportunity to show you
mean what you say."

Reich suspended 24 years of the sentence, ordering Alexander to serve one
year in the county jail, a second year on probation then return to court
for evaluation of his progress.

"Twenty-six years to two years. I'll take that," Alexander said as deputies
escorted him to jail. He said he was "very pleased." Authorities did not
handcuff or shackle him. He wore pressed khakis and a red polo shirt, his
face sunburned from his job mending fences and feeding cattle on a
neighbor's farm.

Two years ago, as a senior at Lawrence County High School, Alexander
crossed paths with an undercover drug agent recruited by Principal Ricky
Nichols. Four times, he arranged marijuana sales at school, then sold small
amounts about $350 worth total to the agent at his family's trailer.

The teen pleaded guilty in January to a deal that included the 26-year
sentence. This was his first arrest.

State laws that enhance the penalties for selling drugs within three miles
of a school or public housing project increased the sentence.

But he applied to serve the time on probation, and was free while awaiting
Wednesday's hearing.

In the meantime, word of the tough sentence spread on the Internet,
igniting advocates of sentencing reform and legalized marijuana across the
United States and in Canada.

Avoided activists:

Groups such as NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws) offered legal help and money. Outside activists offered to send
hundreds of protesters to north Alabama for a courthouse march.
Publications such as High Times and Cannabis Culture pestered Alexander for
interviews, Mays said.

Mays was criticized as a small-town lawyer who did his client wrong.
Moulton, population 3,300, was described as "not much bigger than a
black-eyed pea" and a "bump-in-the-road village ... Deep inside the Bible
Belt."

But Mays predicted any outside pressure would backfire "They'd be calling
Kilby prison right now looking for a bed," and aggressively avoided the
activists. Even after Wednesday's victory, he remained visibly riled at the
attention.

"They're going to come down here to march with some lawyer from New York or
Boston, and he's going to teach a bunch of rednecks some law," Mays said,
recounting the attempts. "They actually think they're going to help Webster
by coming out and raising Cain in front of the courthouse."

Mays advised Alexander to finish school and get a job, instead of
protesting. Apparently, it worked.

He will spend a month in jail before being allowed into a work release
program. A roofer has offered him a job, Mays said.

The judge also ordered 300 hours of community service. He suggested
Alexander continue speaking out against drug use and counseling troubled
youth, something he began at the rehab center he attended after arrest.

"The reports that I'm seeing from staff people involved in these areas of
substance abuse treatment and counseling commend you for what you're
doing," Reich said.

Alexander said little, other than "Yes, sir."

Mays also explained to the judge that the national publicity was
unsolicited, and Alexander does not support legalized marijuana.

Reich allowed Alexander a few minutes with his family before going to jail.
Several relatives, including his parents, attended the hearing.

"He was tearful in saying good-bye to his family," Mays said. "He knows it
could have been an awful, awful, awful lot worse."